Many compositions have been developed with the objective of fighting fires. Some of these compositions have been designed to extinguish existing fires by application after the fire has started. Other compositions are designed to be applied to a material or product as a step in the manufacturing process, with the objective of inhibiting the start of a fire or of retarding the spread of a subsequently started fire.
With the exception of certain types of fires, principally electrical fires and fires involving metals, water is a principal component of many fire fighting compositions and acts to lower the temperature of the burning material below that at which it will support further combustion. Formation of a layer of water also reduces the amount of oxygen available to support combustion. Water also serves as a vehicle or carrier for other ingredients added to enhance the fire extinguishing effect of the water. Some such added ingredients act to modify the surface, or to form a surface, which will not support combustion or re-ignition after a fire has apparently been extinguished. Other ingredients may be added with the objective of generating a gas when heated by the fire, the gas effectively diluting the oxygen level below the level required for combustion to continue. Other ingredients may be added with the objective of reacting with the combustible material to form a modified material which is less combustible under the existing conditions.
As examples of disclosures of fire fighting compositions, mention may be made of Pennartz U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,950,410 issued Aug. 21, 1990, 4,961,865 issued Oct. 9, 1990, and 5,091,097 issued Feb. 25, 1992, and of Curson and Mikulec U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,839 issued Jul. 12, 1988.
A desirable fire extinguishing composition should not only be effective for the intended use but the combination of ingredients should be synergistic, or at least complement each other, in their fire fighting activity, be easy to apply, be cost effective for the intended use, and be environmentally friendly. The present invention provides novel fire fighting compositions which are believed to satisfy these objectives, particularly when used with cellulosic materials such as wood, paper and cardboard packaging materials.